Why Blackhawks defenseman Murphy is embracing tough season
Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy has been around long enough in the NHL to have the luxury of switching perspectives.
"I do find as the years go on, your perspective changes a little bit," Murphy said in late November, "and you switch a little bit from thinking, 'I just want to play a few games' to knowing you want to make an impact and want to have success as a team and win Stanley Cups, obviously."
He started his career with the Phoenix Coyotes before they changed their name to Arizona.
He spent four seasons with that team and then joined the Blackhawks in 2017, where he has played 318 games. He's seen up. And he, especially now, has seen down.
He's seen a lot. So, as this team battles one of its worst seasons in recent memory, Murphy has the authority to say this team needs to "feel a little less sorry for yourself."
The Blackhawks had lost seven games in a row when Murphy said that, and things haven't changed much as they've dropped 11 of their last 12 games.
Still, Murphy isn't worried about any of that. Each game is one at a time.
"A lot of times when you're losing," Murphy said, "things aren't going as bad as you think they are, and then when you're winning on a streak, a lot of times things aren't going as good as you think they are. So, you got to know to be even-keeled and know to bring that compete."
In his six seasons with the Blackhawks, Murphy has tallied 21 goals and 53 assists. He's not the league's most offensively productive player by any means, and there are a number of other defensemen on the Blackhawks who have more attacking firepower, but that's not his strong suit.
Fellow defenseman Seth Jones knows Murphy's strengths: "Murph's a horse. We need Murph to be great this year. He does a lot of little things that other (defensemen) don't do. He eats a lot of minutes for us and a lot of PK as well. He's a big shot-blocker, he's a physical guy, and he's a good puck-mover, so we're going to need all these things from him."
Head coach Luke Richardson has made comments about how fit Murphy is and how he's shown up in the best shape to camp over the past two years. And now, as a 29-year-old veteran, that's what's expected of him.
He's considered a leader, not just on the blue line, but for the entire lineup. He's signed on through the 2025-26 season.
As he said, he's come a long way from just wanting to play a few games at the NHL level, but he's embraced his role as a veteran now. Especially here in Chicago.
"I think my first year or so, I wasn't getting a ton of playing time and was looking at trying to fit in and trying to find my confidence with a new team and still evolve my game," he said. "And then as years gone on, I feel like I've developed into a defensive role I've been more comfortable with and gain confidence in and really fell in love with Chicago and the team and organization and staff and being here. So I think that's been a fun journey so far and ... hopefully (I'll) be here for many years after."
He fits in here, kind of in his own way. He's a great friendly personality to match Jonathan Toews' more serious demeanor and Patrick Kane and Seth Jones' lead-by-example styles. Each one matters, and each one is important in the reshaping of this team as they look to rebuild themselves to glory. Or at least dig themselves out of this rut that they're in.
"(Kane) and (Toews) let us know about how everyone is a big piece of the puzzle here, and that it doesn't matter if you had been here before, if it's your first year, that everyone's voice and efforts on the ice means so much to building something ..." Murphy said. "It comes from us, and any experience you had is gonna help, and everyone's got a big, big part of the rope to pull."